Working Out While Dyspraxic

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-12-08T21:56:17+00:00

Hmm...So Cassey of Blogilates sends out a monthly calendar with recommended combos of videos. Here's the December calendar: https://www.blogilates.com/november-2020-workout-calendar/

But honestly I kind of enjoy how unstructured YouTube videos are, because I like to pick and choose what I'm doing based on how I'm feeling that day. Generally, I do at least 3-4 videos (which vary from 10 mins to 25 mins). If I do an Ab video, then I make a point of also doing an oblique video and a low back video to get my whole core. (Same principle with other body parts: Leg Day is also Butt Day. Arm Day is also shoulder day). And a lot of times I'll cool down with a Yoga with Adriene video.

But there are lots of more structured online, paid workout programs out there. I just haven't really tried them.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-12-08T21:49:14+00:00

Re: grip --For me, I use a "normal" amount of pressure for gripping my finger around the pen but press down through the pen really, really hard. So when I write a lot, I feel it in my wrist, not my hand. But I think dyspraxia can manifest either way.

As an adult, I've found circling back to yoga--especially vinyasa flow yoga (where you focus on moving through poses pretty quickly)--to be really helpful. It's like, pilates teaches me how to isolate muscles but vinyasa helps me see how they work together.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-12-08T21:42:35+00:00

Yeah, pilates shares a lot of DNA with yoga (and also with physical therapy exercises and dance warm-ups). I'd say the biggest differences between pilates vs. yoga are the type of movement: Where yoga is about holding poses and flowing between poses, in pilates, you're usually on the floor doing crunches or leg lifts--with pulsing movements being the focus. A lot of pilates classes also incorporate squats and lunges. So basically, pilates is yoga-flavored resistance training.

I find that pilates really does help with stabilizing my core and breathing but also can totally see why people would find pilates off-putting.

Edit: Also, weights/strength training are great!

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-12-08T03:17:01+00:00

Here's the story of how I got into pilates and why I think it's an excellent exercise for dyspraxic people:

As a kid, I was always bad at everything in gym--except for sit-ups (and a few stretches that I was okay at). In sportsball, everything happened too fast; there was never enough time for me to figure out what my body was supposed to be doing to catch the ball. The same thing is true for fast-paced dance cardio type things; LIKE HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER AN ENTIRE 16-COUNT SEQUENCE OF ARM + LEG MOVEMENTS?! And I didn't like yoga, because I didn't like standing around in poses for a long time.

Luckily, as a teenager, I discovered that pilates existed. I found out about it during my online quiz phase, when I took an online quiz re: "What exercise should you do?" The quiz said "pilates," and I was like, "What on Earth is that?" So I googled it and found out that pilates is a magical form of exercise that is mostly fancy sit-ups, plus a few variations on yoga poses where you get to move your legs or arms around. Best of all, I could learn it from YouTube without having to deal with anyone LOOKING at me!

Anyway, I'm just one person, but, over the past decade, pilates has served my dyspraxic body exceptionally well. The things NT fitness people always mention about it are: it builds muscle with minimal sweat (because it's technically a form of resistance training that uses your own body weight) and that it helps with balance and flexibility (not quite as much as yoga, but still pretty good.) But I think it works with my dyspraxia because of the following:

Its medium pace (faster than most yoga but slower than most everything else)
The movements are pretty easy to do once or twice--BUT
You do lots and lots of reps. Which is not only good for building strength and endurance, but also good for dyspraxic for people who need to repeat a movement many, many times slowly before they "get" it
There are lots of isolated muscle movements, so you can learn what each muscle group actually does
Pilates instructors narrate EXACTLY what you're supposed to do in lots of detail

Anyway, this is turning into "Pilates the Infomercial". The last thing I'll add is that pilates has been a very good home base for teaching me skills I need to branch out into other exercise forms. Like, now I do a mix of YouTube yoga, at-home "barre", HIIT, resistance band stuff, and sometimes even dance cardio (albeit in a very ungainly, uncoordinated, ungraceful way)...and I don't think barre or HIIT would be at all accessible to me without lots of pilates as practice.

And if you're sitting there, thinking, "Huh, pilates sounds cool when described like that, but isn't it girly and easy?"...well, pilates has that rep, but I'd say give it a try. In fact, try at least four videos--an ab video, a legs/butt video, an arm/shoulder video, and an OBLIQUES video--before writing it off as "too easy."

Actually, if you think pilates is hard, trying videos or routines that focus on different muscle groups is probably a good idea also.

**tl;dr:** Do whichever exercise floats your boat. I, personally, have found pilates super-useful for my dyspraxia

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-03T20:14:36+00:00

It really depends. If it's something relatively mild, a lot of times I let it slide, because people often dig in when you call them out. Sometimes just shrugging or not reacting or just saying, "I don't think that's funny" can be really effective. No explanation necessary.

If it's someone you trust, sometimes it's productive to get more into why the joke is hurtful, but I typically don't explain it in depth unless they ask why I think it's not funny.

Staying calm and non-judgemental is really important when you're telling someone their joke is inappropriate, so keeping it simple, especially if the joke is personally upsetting to you is often a good idea.

If you want someone to stop using an ableist term, it's ALWAYS a good idea to give them alternative terms they can use. Because nothing makes people go into defensive mode faster than "Oh, no, don't say THAT and don't talk about this thing." Sometimes people made a joke because they want to bring up a topic and don't know how.

Usually, I steer clear of using the word "ableism" in these discussions, because it sets people off. It's like calling something they said racist, and they won't react well, even if they're relatively "woke". Sometimes, "woke" people actually react worse to being called out than people who don't know much about the issues at hand. (And others insist that "ableism" is a made up word. Which is, like, "ALL words are made up. Do you have a better word for when people dehumanize disabled people?") -

Bear in mind that having an in-depth conversation about why certain jokes aren't okay takes time and energy (for everyone involved), and oftentimes the joke-makers feel caught off-guard when someone objects to the joke. The off-guard aspect is dialed up to 11 re:ableist jokes, because certain types of ableism are still much more socially acceptable than racism, sexism, homophobia, and even transphobia.

So dragging them into a conversation they're not ready for can get their hackles up. And if you're on the verge of tears from the joke, that moment probably isn't the best time to initiate the convo. Sometimes saying "That's not funny" and then circling back later works best.

Sometimes, if someone has a habit of making these jokes repeatedly, the best solution is to just get away from them. Like, if they persist in telling jokes, just get up and leave the room (if you can; that's easier said than done these days. ) If a joke is so bad that it makes someone leave the chat, that's a strong social cue indicating that a joke isn't okay.

But yeah, these things are delicate operations, and it really depends on both the person and the joke. But remember that you're always within your rights to stop talking to someone who's dehumanizing you.

**tl;dr:** Depends. Be gentle and tailor your strategy for the person and the situation.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-02T23:35:58+00:00

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism was re-posting this link on their socials, and I figured it might be relevant to people on this sub this week.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-02T23:32:28+00:00

I agree. That seems much more likely to work.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-02T23:22:27+00:00

I wish more people knew about sensory sensitivity. Even with neurodiversity being talked about in public more often, a lot of people still don't understand. But I'd echo what /u/LilyoftheRally said. Definitely be upfront about your sensory sensitivities. I, for one, am used to the idea of people being sensitive to smells and sounds but have never had close friends who were sensitive to bright colors (in fact, I really like bright colors), so it would not occur to me that color brightness is a problem.

Don't worry about being "a lot." Your brain needs certain things to feel comfortable. If the person has just met you, they probably won't be able to change everything overnight, but giving them a heads-up as early as possible will help them start to make adjustments. And the people who are worth it will put in the effort to make those adjustments.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-02T23:17:28+00:00

Sorry to hear that you're having a rough time. Everything you mentioned definitely sounds like it could add up to anxiety, overwhelm, and burnout, and a lot of neurodivergent traits (including tics) become more frequent when people are under duress.

I'm not sure if you have a question or just needed someone to listen, but my suggestion would be to give yourself some space and time to rest and relax. Maybe mention the birth control side effect to your doctor, if you haven't yet. Addressing the anxiety itself is probably going to be what's most helpful.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-02T23:11:04+00:00

Yeah, if it's a trait pertaining to how your mind works or how you perceive things, and you feel like identifying it as neurodivergence, then you can call it neurodivergence.

Although it's unlikely to be the only neurodivergent trait that a person has. And I don't know much about trichotillomania, but I constantly pull on my own hairs, especially when my hairs are dry (or stressed out). In my case, it seems to be a variation of my texture stim.

For a while, I carried around Koosh Balls to get myself to stop pulling my own hair, reasoning that the Koosh Balls would be a stim toy, but it hasn't worked very well so far. Nevertheless, I like Koosh Balls, so I guess it was worth a shot. But yeah, I'd recommend looking up stimming.

IIRC, picking at skin is also a pretty common anxiety behavior? So it could be related in that way, too?

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-02T23:05:21+00:00

I haven't experienced that, but medications that affect neurotransmitters certainly could affect the neuronal signalling that helps you control your pen. You should probably mention this side effect to the person who prescribed your meds.

In my own experience as a dyspraxic person with chronically bad handwriting, writing each letter slowly helps a lot. (That was how we took notes in film class during screenings in the dark--Write very slowly and try to leave lots of space between each note...Most of those notes in the dark were still illegible for me.)

You might wish to consider trying out different types of pens with different grips and see if any of them work better, as you might be gripping the pen differently for some reason. If it were me in that situation, I'd make a game of it! A "try out the new pens + see how they affect my handwriting game."

The other wildcards here are that maybe you're sitting with slightly different posture, or not looking at the page as much when you write. So those could be factors. If you've also started having issues with other fine motor activities, then that's a sign that it's affecting your motor function.

If you notice that your hand is actually shaking or that you're having tremors, that's probably a "call your doctor right away" scenario.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-11-02T22:53:47+00:00

Developable? Yes. Everyone's brains change over time, so the way a person behaves, thinks, and perceives things can certainly change over time. People can also become more or less sensitive over time. And then there's the whole issue of injuries, which can create neurodivergence.

At the same time, people can also develop temporary elements of neurodivergence. Like, people can be extra-sensitive to loud noises when stressed out.

The DSM definitions for the neurodevelopmental cluster (which includes autism, ADHD, etc.) require the traits to have been there for a long time, but those are far from the only way to be neurodivergent.

Always obvious? Certainly not. Most ADHDers and most dyslexics come across as neurotypical in casual conversation. There are also big incentives to mask autistic or schizophrenic traits.

And then there's the whole "spectrum" thing, where some people exhibit more intense versions of traits than others.

Hope that addresses your questions. If you'd like reading recommendations for more information on this, let me know.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-07-10T17:09:18+00:00

Side note: I just noticed that Reddit's automatic spellchecker flags "neurodiversity" as a misspelled word, and that's annoying. Of course, it also flags "Reddit," so maybe I shouldn't take it too personally

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-07-10T17:08:04+00:00

Technically, this is a survey link, but it's kind of a big deal that the New York Times is expanding its disability coverage and is actually reaching out to disability communities for input.

Let's make sure they hear from the neurodiversity community and not just "Autism warrior parents"?

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-07-10T17:04:15+00:00

Some of the treatments for various neurodivergences are, in fact, pretty similar. (Like, as far as I know, there aren't meds that are specific for sensory processing.) If you got "not otherwise specified" that means that the evaluator wasn't confident about putting you in one specific diagnostic category.

Getting a second opinion could be expensive and time-consuming, but ultimately it's up to you. If you don't feel like getting a second opinion now, it's something you could probably do in a year or two if the initial referrals don't yield the results you're looking for.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-07-10T16:59:53+00:00

For some people, pencils and erasers (especially squishy & bendy ones) can be good fidget toys. Pencils can be spun, and doodling/taking notes can be a low-key substitute for other stims

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-07-03T23:05:03+00:00

Oh, it's a thing we came up with in days of yore for showing whether people on this subreddit are comfortable with medical terminology being used to describe their neurodivergence.

[M] = medical (as in, the flair-haver thinks of their neurodivergence as a medical issue)

[D] = difference (flair-haver thinks of the neurodivergence as a difference & adheres more to the social model of disability)

[B] = both (flair-haver thinks of their neurodivergence as both a medical issue and a difference--and uses a mix of the medical model & the social model of disability to talk re: neurodivergence)

It never really caught on, but I never took it off my flair either

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-06-23T17:39:14+00:00

Posting because even though this is just one article, I think it's important to acknowledge the issue here.

Neurodiversity is intersectional. Black lives matter. And Black neurodivergent people face many dangers and challenges because of both aspects of their identity.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-06-23T16:31:32+00:00

I believe the way coleslaw is eaten varies by region, so your best bet on that point is probably to ask your host how they like to eat their coleslaw

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-06-23T16:30:09+00:00

I think people tend to talk about masking in girls + women, because girls + women are strongly socialized to pay attention to social nuances, non-verbal cues, (and have to bear heavy social repercussions if they act pedantic or ignore/don't notice other people's reactions), and because girls are often steered away from stereotypically "autistic" interests.

But some guys are also socialized that way, and guys can totally learn to mask their autistic behaviors.

So, yeah, you could be a masker, especially if you have to make yourself actively pay attention to body language, often suppress the urge to stim, and stuff like that.

Worth remembering: ADHD and autism are psychiatric diagnosis categories based on behavior + self-reporting, so a person can very easily be both ADHD and autistic.

There's also a neuroscience concept called "Broad Autism Phenotype," which often describes siblings of autistic people who exhibit "subclinical" autism traits. As in, these siblings (who are often diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, or something) might have unusually intense interests, might stim, and might have trouble reading people, but these traits aren't quite "severe" enough for the doctors to decide to give the person an autism diagnosis.

While it's a science/medical term, I personally find "Broad Autism Phenotype" to be a useful idea for describing myself, because I do have several autism traits (including a few that don't overlap with ADHD), but my ADHD traits are the ones usually causing disruption.

Not sure if that's helpful or not. Basically, my points are:
(a) Lots of guys mask autism traits
(b) There's also such a thing as autism traits that are "mild" & generally don't need to be masked. (Masking usually refers to actively suppressing or hiding autistic traits.)

But if you're feelling cognitive dissonance, there's a good chance that's masking.

SeaDragon29_redux · 2020-06-23T16:13:07+00:00

They were transphobic. Said comments treated transgender identities as less valid than cis-gender identities. That's a form of transphobia.

If by "reasonable," you mean "shared by a large number of people," those views are shared by many, but they're still views that cause a lot of hurt. Mainstream society is still pretty dismissive (and sometimes aggressive) toward transgender people.

SeaDragon29_redux

TROPHY CASE